Predestination. A Bible Study Course for Adults. by John A. Moldstad, Jr. SAMPLE. Leader s Guide

Transcription

1 Predestination A Bible Study Course for Adults by John A. Moldstad, Jr. Leader s Guide Lesson One Laying the Groundwork... 5 Lesson Two The Big Picture... 9 Lesson Three Chosen in Christ...14 Lesson Four Through the Holy Spirit and the Means of Grace...18 Lesson Five The Certainty of Our Predestination...22 Lesson Six False Teachings on Predestination...28 Lesson Seven Applying Our Election to Life...32 All rights reserved. New edition, 2008 Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI by Northwestern Publishing House. Published 1998 Printed in the United States of America ISBN

2 Predestination Leader s Guide Page 2 To the Leader The leader has three resources for preparing to teach each lesson: this leader s guide, the resources or references on the computer disk included with this Bible study kit, and the book Predestination. Predestination is part of the 25-volume series People s Bible Teachings, published by Northwestern Publishing House. References to Predestination appear at the beginning of each lesson. The leader will want to have a copy of this book. This study has been written for classes where class members are not expected to prepare in advance. It is not necessary for the class to have the book in order to benefit from the lessons. However, the leader will want to inform the class of the availability of the book Predestination and may want to have copies of the book available for purchase. Class members will greatly benefit from reading the book as they work through the lessons. There is much information in the book that is not presented in this course. On the other hand, the leader may set up the course with the idea of working through the book Predestination by using these lessons as a study guide. In that case, each class member will want to purchase his or her own book before the class begins. Each lesson begins and ends with a suggested prayer. The leader may want to write his own prayer or have an ex corde prayer. The prayers that are supplied have been written with the lesson for the day in mind. The opening prayer looks ahead to the lesson to be studied, and the closing prayer is directed toward application of the truths learned. Goals are offered for each lesson. The goals state the truths to be learned, along with ways in which these truths can strengthen our faith and life. The leader should keep these goals in mind as the lesson is being taught and discussed in order to keep the proper focus for each lesson. Each lesson has been designed to fit into a 45- to 60-minute class session. The questions in each lesson are intended to provoke healthy discussion by driving the participants into the various passages of Scripture. A conscious effort has been made to emphasize the grace, comfort, and assurance that comes from the knowledge of Jesus Christ as one s personal Savior from sin. This Bible study intends to show that our being chosen as followers of Christ is a source of strength when temptations to doubt creep in. The study of this doctrine involves more than simply setting forth the Scriptural principles in a systematic way. As lesson seven demonstrates, our understanding of election has an important bearing on our daily lives as Christians. Lesson six on the controversies surrounding the teaching of election should be previewed before teaching this course. A lay teacher should decide if he wants to teach the material or to simply refer to the appropriate chapters in Predestination. The material itself is not difficult, but additional background reading may be necessary to give the teacher a more complete grasp of the issues than can be offered in this leader s guide. A sign-up sheet for class members to order the book Predestination is included in this kit. Class leaders can place an order after the first class period and distribute the books at the second. See the sheet for details. It is the sincere prayer of this author that your study of predestination will lead you into an even deeper appreciation of God s wondrous saving grace in Jesus Christ. May God bless your study! John A. Moldstad, Jr.

3 Predestination Leader s Guide Page 3 Using the computer CD included in this Bible study kit Thank you for purchasing an NPH Bible study kit. The computer CD included with this Bible study offers resources to help you prepare to teach God s Word to his people. What will I find on the CD? Each CD contains two text files, GUIDES.TXT and RESOURCE.TXT, and two directories, GUIDES and RESOURCE. Read the short text files first. The GUIDES.TXT file tells you what is in the GUIDES directory. It lists the various formats for the student s guide copy masters. The RESOURCE.TXT file tells you what is in the RESOURCE directory. It contains a list of articles and resource material you may find helpful in preparing to teach the course. How do I open the text files? There are no programs on this CD. In other words, there is nothing you need to install on your computer and run. These are simple files, such as a letter or sermon you might save on your hard drive. To use these files, simply open them as you would any other file. Most word processors have a window in which you can navigate to various places to locate files. You will need to tell your word processor that you want to find a file on the drive in which you inserted the Bible study CD. This will usually be drive c: or d:. If you are using a Windows word processor, click on drive c: or d: in the Open File window. When you have selected the appropriate drive, it will list the files and directories that are on the Bible study CD. What if no files or directories appear? Some word processors are set to show only files created by or for that program. You need to indicate that you want to see all the files on the CD. A pull-down menu in the Open File window gives you the options for the types of files you want the program to list. Choose all files or the equivalent. All the files and directories on your CD should appear. At this point you should be able to open the two text files. By navigating to the GUIDES and RESOURCE directories, you will be able to view the file names and open their contents as well. How do I use the files in the GUIDES directory? The GUIDES directory contains the student s guide copy masters and leader s guide. The files in the GUIDES directory are provided in both RTF and PDF formats. We have made every effort to provide you with the capability of adapting this Bible study to your needs. However, some degree of reformatting may be necessary to use the RTF files on your computer.

4 Predestination Leader s Guide Page 4 The files included on this disk can be used by both IBM and Macintosh systems. If you have any questions about using the CD, please call NPH at (414) Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

5 Predestination Leader s Guide Page 5 Lesson One Laying the Groundwork Predestination, pp Goal To lay the foundation for understanding the doctrine of predestination through a review of the key teachings of the Bible on the subject of salvation. Opening Prayer Lord God, as we study your Word today, we ask you to open our hearts and minds to what you have revealed for our eternal salvation. We have not deserved your kindness and mercy. We praise you for your great love as shown in your Son, Jesus Christ. Strengthen our faith that we may serve you more diligently all our days. Amen. Introduction Note: In this study we will use the terms election and predestination interchangeably. Some Lutheran theologians draw a slight distinction by suggesting that election relates more to the objects elected whereas predestination relates more to the end and order of means within election. For the purposes of our study, however, we use the terms synonymously. In our culture today the term Christian is used to describe a wide variety of theological positions, customs, and lifestyles. Some people s ideas of what makes people Christian is far removed from what the Bible says. Can you give some examples of how the term is misused? Expect a wide variety of responses. For example, some people think of themselves as Christian because they hold to a particular political point of view. Some use the term Christian in business advertising, hoping to boost sales. Some religious groups that deny the basic truths of Christianity still want to be considered Christian. Others go so far as to invoke the Christian name when seeking tolerance or open acceptance of an immoral lifestyle. What makes a person or group truly Christian? The class participants could mention the following points: Christians are baptized into the name of the triune God. They hear and believe the Word of God, confess their sins, and believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world. They gather and rejoice with fellow Christians, respond in love for what Christ has done, fight against false teachings, and so on. Since numerous misunderstandings are connected with the name Christian, we will review some of the basic teachings of the Bible concerning the salvation of sinners. This review will help us in our future discussion of predestination.

6 Predestination Leader s Guide Page 6 Corruption of the sinner Romans 5:18 The result of one trespass was condemnation for all men. Psalm 53:3 Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 8:7,8 The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You ve heard the expression There s a little good in everyone. How does this saying compare with how Scripture describes the spiritual state of all people? The expression There s a little good in everyone is not often exposed for what it actually says. The implication is that there may be bad in people, but everyone still possesses a bit of good. Yet, the trespass of Adam so permeates his descendants that even from our conception there is nothing good in us. We are spiritually dead, unable to turn ourselves from sin to God. If God gave us exactly what we deserved, what kind of predicament would we all be facing? Polls in the 1990s have shown that 60% of Americans now believe in a hell as compared to 58% in the 1950s. But the resurgence of the belief in a literal place of eternal burning is apparently related to the prevalence of extreme violence in the world. Terrible tyrants and evil people, such as Saddam Hussein and Timothy McVeigh, are perceived as candidates for such a place. Still, people consider the average person the one who breaks God s commands in a less conspicuous fashion not worthy of hell. But hell is what all of us deserve because of our sin. We are unable to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and put ourselves in a position to receive God s mercy. This is an important concept. It is called the teaching of total depravity. The teacher will find that only when the class understands (and accepts!) this truth of Scripture will it be able to understand and accept what Scripture teaches about predestination. The leader will want to be careful to teach this thoroughly. If there is time, read Romans 3:9-20. This section closes the door to any claim of spiritual strength apart from Christ. Considering the teaching of total depravity, is anyone more qualified for coming to faith than another? No. There is no good quality in any of us that God deems worthy of a reward or that prompts him to make a greater effort to bring us to faith. Nor is there any quality in us that we can rely on to give us the power to come to faith. 1 Timothy 2:4 [God] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9 He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.